1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to gas burner assemblies and, more particularly, to sealed gas burner assemblies for domestic ranges or cook tops.
2. Description of Related Art
Several different types of removable sealed gas burners are known in the appliance art. These burners typically include bosses that cooperate with recesses on the top panel to provide a twist-and-lock feature.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,276, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, provide a burner having a cylindrical base from which extend a pair of proturbances. The range top has a cylindrical flange with dog-leg shaped recesses that receive the proturbances in a twist-and-lock manner. Unfortunately, the mounting system of the '276 patent is highly expensive to manufacturing, requires tight manufacturing tolerances, and therefore, is not commercially feasible on most models of household ranges or cook tops.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,154 shows a burner mounted with spring clips to a range top. A burner opening in the range top is circular and does not orient the burner relative to the range top. The mounting arrangement of the '154 patent does not positively position the burner and does not prevent rotation of the burner.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a simple and inexpensive device for releasably attaching a gas burner to a top panel of a range. There also exists a need in the art for such a device which positively locates the burner relative to the range top and which prevents rotation of the burner.